This is my sixth Blenheim Triathlon and a very special one because I am raising funds and awareness for Brain Tumour Research and specifically Taylan's Project.

Taylan was 7 when he passed away. So young, so innocent, so unfair.

Taylan attended the same school as our sons Jamie & Ollie. Everyone in the school and the community have been affected by his tragic death. His family and friends remain devastated.

Take time to read the facts shown below and you will probably be as shocked as I was. It is incredible that brain tumours are the biggest killer of children and those aged under 40 in the UK.

I want to help and I need your cash. Please be generous and I promise to swim 750m (in the Palace lake), cycle 20km and run 5km as fast as I can. My target this year is still to break the 1 hour 30 minutes barrier (6th time lucky?). If you can sponsor me, together we will be helping to work towards finding a cure so no more families have their children taken so cruelly.

See more about Taylan and the incredible work being done to raise awareness and funds for BrainTumour work at www.taylansproject.com and www.braintumourresearch.org

Did you know that....

* 16,000 people each year in the UK are diagnosed with a brain tumour
* 20% of all cancers now spread to the brain
* Primary tumours cannot be prevented because their cause is unknown
* More men under the age of 45 and women under the age of 35 die from a brain tumour than any other cancer
* While the five-year survival rate for many cancers is over 50% and rising to over 90% for some cancers, for brain tumours, the five year survival rate for men is 14.1% and women is now 13.8%
* Brain tumours are the most common solid tumour found in children and they have overtaken leukaemia as the biggest cancer killer of children in the UK
* The number of children dying from a brain tumour in 2007 was 33% higher   than in 2001; child deaths from leukaemia were 39% lower than in 2001
* Brain tumour research receives less than 1% (0.7%) of cancer research spending in the UK
* The amount the government has spent on cancer research related to brain tumours in 2007-8 is half the 'official' figure of £970,000 from the Medical Research Council
 

So please dig deep and donate now